A 3,000-acre Texas solar farm was severely damaged by hail on March 15, when large chunks fell from the skies and broke hundreds of panels. This left the facility operating at “reduced capacities.”
It appears that the system is still operating at reduced capacity.
A hailstorm this month has damaged thousands of solar panels at the 350-MW Fighting Jays Solar Farm in Fort Bend County, Texas, “Golf ball”-sized hail fell in the area on March 15, and aerial footage captured from a helicopter offered a glimpse at the extent of the damage pic.twitter.com/3G4SkaRTLI
— Nika4h (@nikit2h) March 27, 2024
The storm has highlighted the fragility and potential leakage of toxic chemicals from so-called “green energy” facilities. Nick Kaminski, a resident of Needville, spoke to a local TV affiliate.
I am concerned about the hail damage which has caused these panels to be damaged. We now have highly toxic chemicals in our water table that may leak.
I am married and have two children. My neighbors are parents and many other residents who use well water in the area are worried that chemicals are leaking into the water table.
The company denies that there is a risk of exposure to chemicals.
Video footage from the air appears to show catastrophic damage to a plant.
BREAKING: Hail storm in Damon texas on 3/24/24 destroys 1,000’s of acres of solar farms.
Who pays to fix this green energy? @StateFarm? @FarmBureau? @Allstate?
Or you the taxpayer? pic.twitter.com/GpNSaopObZ
— Corey Thompson (@Roughneck2real) March 25, 2024
Meanwhile, Rep. Troy Nehls, who represents this area, said we are not yet ready to switch entirely to green energy.
Matthews, a Fox News Digital reporter, said that “as far as solar panels being damaged in areas where tornadoes and hail are commonplace, these companies take the risk by building them there.”
“Events such as this highlight the importance of having an all-of-the-above energy approach to meet our needs. They also demonstrate how our country can’t solely rely on or fully convert to renewable energy sources.”
Daniel Turner, the Executive Director of the energy watchdog Power the Future, was more insistent about the importance of proceeding with solar power carefully:
Turner said that the Biden administration and the environmental left are playing a huge shell game by presenting solar and wind as carbon-neutral, green, and clean. “They use these buzzwords. They’re not all of this and have huge drawbacks. It’s a disservice to the American people when they are obfuscated about these obvious flaws.
He said that because solar panels are manufactured primarily in China, the destruction of solar farms may be used in geopolitical conflicts between the U.S.
Why would we expect that they will rush to our assistance when our grid is down across the country, and the only ones who have the products we need to get it back up? Turner said.
The incident has shown us that we’re still a long way from being able to run the country safely on renewable energy. We may get there someday, but we still have a lot of work to do.
